Escaping
by MissingMommy
Summary: Rodolphus may be escaping from Azkaban, but that doesn't mean he isn't watching over his brother. :: Rod&Rab, for Amber


I'm the Harpies' Captain, season 6, round 2.

For Amber.

* * *

Rodolphus wakes to a loud bang. He's alert almost immediately, his eyes flickering around the shadows of his cell. He can't see much—it's too dark for that—but after years of living in the darkness, his other senses have heightened to counter his lack of sight. A sound of laughter floats down the corridor, and he stands immediately; he can place that laugh anywhere.

Harsh yellowish light floods his vision and he narrows his eyes. He grounds his teeth as his cell door flies open, causing the smallest of a breeze that causes him to shiver.

"Are you ready to get out of here?" his wife asks.

His eyes hurt from the light, but he nods anyways. He croaks, "Where's Rabastan?"

"You were the last one to free. The others are waiting for us," she answers, pivoting and heading back in the direction she came from. "The Aurors will be here soon."

He stumbles to follow Bellatrix's black mane as she navigates the way to freedom. He's eager to see his brother. He can sometimes hear Rabastan's coughing if he listens close enough; his brother was never equipped to handle Azkaban, and he needs to see with his own two eyes that Azkaban didn't kill him.

Rodolphus has dreamed of this day for far too long, of escaping like they were promised, but he had begun to lose hope as the years went on and no rescue came, even after his tattoo pulsed with pain. His heart soars when he sees his brother leaning heavily against the hole in the wall. He takes a deep breath of fresh air when he sees him. The air is saturated with the moisture of the rain, but it's better than the stagnant, stifling air inside their cells.

Rabastan gives him a wry smile. "Look at you, all happy. It's not decent."

He opens his mouth to retort but is cut off by Bellatrix. She hands him a wand and a shrunken broom before she moves to the next. "We're going to have to fly to the mainland before we can Apparate. Our destination is Malfoy Manor."

Rodolphus moves to his brother before unshrinking the broom. Rabastan pushes off the wall and sways for a moment before he collapses. He catches Rabastan easily from years of practice. He lightly slaps his brother's cheek to try bring Rabastan back to consciousness. "Don't you die on me! Don't you dare! Not now."

Rabastan's eyes flicker open, and he gives Rodolphus a weak smile that causes a coughing fit, his body shaking with the force of them. He wishes he could ease his brother's pain.

"The Aurors will be here any minute, Rodolphus," Bellatrix says sharply. She's on her own broom, ready to kick off.

He nods. He takes the wand from his brother, and pulls his brother onto the broom in front of him as gently as possible. Rabastan doesn't have a chance to protest before he kicks off, hard.

Neither of them have been flying inclined; first year flying lesson was enough for him and they all feared Rabastan's health at high altitudes which kept his brother firmly on the ground. The broom shakes a bit as he navigates through the low lying clouds. The wind and rain whips around them both harshly, and Rodolphus feels his brother shiver against him.

He urges the broom to go a little faster. He keeps it straight, knowing the lake couldn't go on forever. He's not sure how much time passes before they reach land, but they are both thoroughly soaked and Rabastan is shivering violently, his breathing comes out in pants. Not wasting time, he drops the broom and grabs ahold of Rabastan's arm tightly and Apparates.

When they land within Malfoy Manor's wards, he sighs in relief. Thankfully it's not raining. He puts his arm under his brother's arm, half-leading, half-dragging Rabastan into the Manor. The warmth is wondrous.

Lucius grimaces at their wet, filthy appearance as he calls for his house-elf. The house-elf leads them to one of the many rooms, and fetches them both clean clothes. Rabastan shakes in his arms the entire time.

Rodolphus manages to get them both undressed and dressed in the clothes. He calls for the house-elf and orders him to bring another jumper, blanket, a scarf, and a dreamless sleep draught. He wraps the scarf around Rabastan's neck after pulling the jumper over his head. The other man is swimming in the borrowed clothes. He's always been underweight due to his illness, but it seems that Azkaban only exacerbated the weight loss.

By the time he gets his brother in bed, wrapped with another blanket, the shivering has subsided. He helps Rabastan drink the potion. He looks at Rodolphus, blinking slowly as fatigue hits him. Before letting sleep take him, he mumbles, "Thank you."

When he's out, Rodolphus pulls out the borrowed wand and casts spells to determine how well Rabastan is. The other man's running a fever which isn't surprising. He's always peculiarly susceptible to illness, which his brother always hated.

He summons the chair in the room towards himself and settles down for a long wait. He remembers being eight years old and Rabastan getting sick for the first time; he had whispered ' _I would fight with every bone in my body if it meant I could protect you, even from your own body'_ when he watched the four year old cough and cough and cough.

This is all too familiar, watching over Rabastan. He prefers to make sure he'll survive over celebrating their escape with the others. He knows that when the other man wakes and realizes that Rodolphus spent all the time checking on him that he'll be angry; he's always hated the way his body betrays him and that Rodolphus has never hesitated to look after him.

His first priority is, and always has been, looking over Rabastan.

He draws the curtains in the room with a flick of his wand and falls asleep. For the first time in years, he's not plagued with nightmares; but that doesn't mean it's restful. He's plagued with dreams of Rabastan coughing himself to death, but nothing compared to nightmares in Azkaban.

Whimpers draw him out of sleep. He rubs his eyes and focuses on the bed. Rabastan shifts uneasily and breathes heavily. He's quick to stand, light the wand, and shake his brother's shoulder until he's awake.

Rabastan pulls away, his eyes still shut. "Don't. Please. I'm sorry!"

"Rab, it's just a dream. Wake up," he says, shaking his brother more.

It takes a few more shakes before Rabastan opens his eyes. He looks terrified until realization dawns on him. "Rod?"

He nods. "Yeah, it's me."

He lets silence fill the air as Rabastan's breathing slows. When his brother's breathing is controlled, he looks up at Rodolphus. His voice is scratchy when he says, "I thought we wouldn't be reliving our worst nightmares anymore."

Rodolphus transfigures an object from the nightstand into a cup and summons water. He holds it for Rabastan to drink from. His brother drinks from it slowly so he doesn't make himself sick. He puts the cup down when he's done.

"Sleep, Rab. I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Days of the year: Best Friend's Day - Write about best friends. Alt, write a fic for one of you best fanfiction friends.

Summer: (word) Stifling

Seasonal birthstones: Turquoise - (dialogue) "I would fight with every bone in my body if it meant I could protect you."

World cup: Uruguay vs Russia - Wondrous

Holmes: (dialogue) "Look at you, all happy. It's not decent."

Film: 16. Item - Sweater/Jumper

Balloon: (Dialogue) "Don't die on me! Don't you dare!"

Fairies: Air - Wind, Freedom, Clouds, Flying, Soaring, Air, Gentle, Open, Breeze, Breathe

Eagle Day: 13. (word) peculiar, (color) yellow

Insane: 312. Apparate

365: 189. Malfoy Manor

Character Appreciation: 29. (plot point) Escaping from prison

Book club: Dante - (word) heart, (colour) black, (word) tattoo

Showtime: 15. (word) Celebrate

Amber's Attic: 20. Write about someone who wants to be normal.

Buttons: O2 - Scarf, W4 - Filthy


End file.
